Do You Remember Memory Verses?

J. D. Conley

April 27, 2014

One of the absolutes of attending Bible class while growing up, was having your memory verse memorized. It was stressed to such a degree that you dared not step into the classroom without having it indelibly etched on the wall of your mind. Failure to have your memory verse memorized, would result in the most humiliating thing of all, i.e., the teacher would inform your parents. In addition to that worst of all scenarios, neither did you want to disappoint your teacher or embarrass yourself in front of your classmates. Therefore, you made sure your verse was memorized and your lesson was filled out ahead of time.

Its sad that memory verse requirements have been forgotten. Not only are children no longer expected to memorize scriptures, but many younger preachers are not quoting Scripture from memory in their sermons. It just does not look right when John 3:16 or Acts 2:38 has to be read, instead of quoted from the pulpit. Any Christian, much less a gospel preacher, ought to be able to quote such well known verses. How sad it is when members of the church are unable to quote Scripture or even locate books in the Bible.

Memorizing Scripture ought never to be viewed as an antiquated practice or an insignificant mental exercise. Consider the following blessings that come as a result of the memorization of the Sacred Text:

Mental Availability.Nothing surpasses this or even matches it value. A Bible app on a Smart Phone is handy to have, but not near as handy as immediate mental availability. How much better it is to have passages at the forefront of the mind, ready to be dispensed with in any and all situations. To be able to cite or quote a passage of scripture to someone, is more impressive to one we are trying to teach, than trying to find it on a Bible app. Why? Because it shows that we have taken God's Word so seriously, and that it is so important to us, that we have invested the time and energy required to learn it and remember it!

Spirit Saturation.This is another real and substantial value in memorizing Scripture. It is not done so we can rattle verses off and impress people with our memory skills. Back in our Sunday School days it might have earned us a gold star, but now we realize what it truly earns us, and that is, a soaking of self in the Word. When we make the concerted effort to memorize and allow what we have memorized change our thinking and way of behavior, then we have accomplished what David strove for, "Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee" (Ps.119:11). May we memorize and "understand what the will of the Lord is" (Eph.5:17)